Quilters donate pillowcases as part of national project

Quilters gather to present 90 pillowcases to Heartland Behavioral Health Services, Nevada, on Monday at Nine Patch Quilt and Fabric, Nevada, where the group meets. From left are Janice Almquist, Karen Stiles, Heartland marketing director Betsy Curtis, Nancy Boulton, Sandra Horvath, Erica Skouby, Diane Valentine, Loretta Laman and Mandy Gibson.

The Bushwhacker Quilt Guild and the Last Monday Quilt Guild have been busy making pillowcases for the Million Pillowcase Challenge. This is a challenge in 2010 for different groups all across the United States to make 1 million pillowcases and donate them to organizations that can use them. like Ronald McDonald Houses, children's homes, women's shelters, nursing homes, etc.

The ladies in Nevada have made 90 pillowcases since beginning the project in May, and on Monday, the group donated them to Heartland Behavioral Health Services in Nevada.

Originally, the group had a goal of making 50 pillowcases, "but all of the ladies really came through," said group member Sandra Horvath.

Betsy Curtis, director of marketing and community relations at Heartland, said the pillowcases will be given to the residents, who will keep the pillowcases when they leave the facility.

"It's really a nice thing to have. We really appreciate this," Curtis said.

As of Monday, more than 137,000 pillowcases have been made across the country.

This challenge is sponsored by American Patchwork & Quilting. For more information, visit www.AllPeopleQuilt.com/millionpillowcases. Pillowcases can provide comfort for a cancer patient, hope for a foster child, encouragement for a battered woman, or beauty for a nursing home resident.